Why are investors suddenly so fixated on dividends? A week ago, I took a look at what economist Gary Shilling had to say about the economy and the investment landscape. It wasn't pretty, but I think he has a pretty good handle on why many investors are turning to dividends -- namely, they are concerned that capital gains will be hard to come by in the years ahead, and they believe they'll have to count on dividends for most of their returns.
More generally, though, I think investors have had the fear of God put in them by the recent crash, and after seeing their accounts decimated and valuations go haywire, they like the idea of tangible returns. And dividend payments that roll in every quarter are nothing if they're not tangible. Now, today, the world is a changed place, a bleaker place, and dividends are now the investment must-have. But it won't last. As a broad group, investors are a fickle bunch that tend to jump on the latest trend faster than you can say "Justin Bieber."